Monday, October 31, 2016

“The Case of the Missing Ribosome and Other Tales of Protein Translation,” by Dr. Jonathan Yewdell is a talk being given at Ohio State next Monday, the day before the rest of us go to the polls. Change a few words and it could sound mysteriously political-- “The Case of the Missing e-mails and Other Tales of Political Translation.” A wildly strange last minute October surprise. What will Democrats now try to throw out about Trump to see if it sticks? More sex charges? More tax charges? Can it be more salacious than missing e-mails stored on the computer of a pervert? Huma Abedin is lawyering up. Will she be offered a deal while still under the Stronger Together bus? We’ve got an Attorney General (Loretta Lynch) our top cop who has to investigate all the little guys whose reputation is completely compromised by a meeting on the tarmac with the candidate’s husband and taking the 5th on the $1.7 billion ransom payment to Iran. Is the FBI director, James Comey, who reports to Lynch going rogue with the truth? And a high up FBI associate (McCabe) in the mix whose wife accepted $650,000 from the DNC to run her campaign for Senate? All this on the tail of the news about the increase of deductibles and premiums of health insurance, and the Wikileaks Podesta e-mails about Bill Clinton Inc. showing his clearly illegal and crass behavior in the Clinton Foundation.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

The problem with the missing Clinton e-mails is that as more has come out about her accepting money for her Foundation for favors, or implied access (from the Wikileaks e-mails), this may be the primary reason for the personal server, even if it wasn't the motivation for the investigation of the server. She couldn't run her sideline business on a government server! And it may be the reason Huma was sending e-mails to her home laptop for "printing." If she tried to print it on a government printer, someone might see it (wireless stores the information). And that laptop may be where those missing e-mails are stored. And that will take a lot of time to sort through and not anger or blow the cover of politicians of countries that are our allies who were buying favors from the Secretary of State. No proof, of course.

Why would Mrs. Clinton with her vast experience as a lawyer and Secretary of State even suggest FBI Comey should release more information on the e-mails before they are carefully examined? "Get it all out there so the voters can judge for themselves" is not something you do with evidence in an FBI or pedophile case.

I heard a report that if you voted early, in some states that can be reversed. I've got some friends and relatives you might want to check on that.
Poll numbers are showing a tightening. Washington Post must be having a meltdown—it
has tried so hard to deep six Trump. But it’s too soon to be about the
Comey FBI investigation of the Weiner/Abedin laptop. I think it’s because of
the Obamacare increases, which have been significant in some states. The
President lied—said it was about 25%, but it’s much higher. Actually, he lied
from the beginning about this “health care.” Even the news about “Bill Clinton,
Inc.” probably hasn’t affected the polls. Each new scandal keeps bumping the
other off the page, and Americans are getting Clinton scandal fatigue.

1) to be treasurer of your company
2) to be president of the college with access to alumni records for fund raising
3) to take care of your cats while you went to Europe for 2 weeks... 4) to be the insurance carrier for your employees 5) to be your pastor 6) to run your non-profit day care center 7) to manage your condo association with multiple sub-contractors 8) to be a private in the Army 9) to be chief of police of your community 10) to take care of your mother who has dementia?

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) decided
to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard
to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the
reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management
was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people paddling and 1 person
steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people paddling.
Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting
company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They
advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not
enough people were paddling.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another
loss to the Japanese, the paddling team's management structure was totally
reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1
assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people
paddling the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing
Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the
paddlers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other
equipment, extra vacation days for practices, and bonuses. The pension program
was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were
channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off one paddler, halted development
of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and cancelled all capital investments for
new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as
bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated paddler was
unable to even finish the race (having no paddles), so he was laid off for
unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's
racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: GM has spent the last thirty years
moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying
American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants
inside the US. The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits
while GM racks up 9 billion in losses.GM folks are still scratching their heads,
and collecting bonuses...

Americans working in managerial or professional occupations boast an average net worth of $1.06 million and that's much more than roughly $269,000 net worth for people working in technical, sales, or services jobs. (Motley Fool, Jan. 2016) But also, that's household wealth--and managerial and professional people are more likely to be married (that's 2 incomes) than lower income people, to have graduated from college, and to save and invest. Marriage benefits for black couples are remarkable, but played down in government social studies (that said, black women benefit less than black men).

Marriage and education also provide health benefits, not only does education give them a boost, but even having children who go to college adds to their life span (Pew Research, July 2014). Professionals are less likely to be obese or smokers--maybe their kids nag them. Marriage provides other benefits like inheritance from 2 families even if it's a small amount like insurance or real estate. We have no control over our ethnicity, but Asian Americans are much better at checking all the boxes. 84% of Asian American children live in 2 parent homes.

Brent Budowsky is a strong supporter of Mrs. Clinton, and blogs at various web sites, The Hill, the LA Progressive, and The Huffington Post. You can't say he didn't realize the danger of what she and her family were doing in March 2015.

“It was not uplifting to learn in recent hours that problems with foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation continue, Hillary Clinton was still making paid speeches for hire this week, and Tony Rodham is hustling gold mining deals in Haiti. ...From the minute the email story broke I have been out there publicly and unequivocally supporting Hillary Clinton in multiple ways in multiple media unlike many Democrats and unlike most in the media. My mama taught me long ago that when I am seriously angry I should count to ten and choose my words carefully. In that spirit here is my toned down advice which I seriously doubt the Clintons are hearing from those close to them, and if they are hearing it, they are not understanding it. If there is one thing that could well bring down a Hillary Clinton candidacy it is this cycle of money issues about which I am now feeling red alerts, loud bells, warning signals, and red flags and I am now seriously pissed off that there is a real chance that her candidacy and the Democratic Party could be destroyed by these self-created dangers that continue to proliferate the closer she gets to presumably announcing her candidacy. If she is not hearing this from others, please feel free to forward this to her, I will play the bad guy here because I do not want her money and because she needs to hear this from her friends and she will sure as hell be attacked for this by her enemies, and it will be megaphoned throughout the media, and foreign donations and paid speeches and hustling gold mining deals by her brother are entirely legitimate issues that are self-created, and must self-corrected before it is too late….and I do not believe the Clintons fully understand the magnitude and immediacy of the danger in the current political and media climate…..Brent”

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients, place it in a baking dish and bake in a
preheated 350F oven until the sides are bubbling and the cheese cheese
has melted and turned golden brown on top, about 20-30 minutes. Serve
with crackers or tortilla chips, and enjoy!

My set of Revere Ware is about 54 years old--I know it wasn't a wedding gift, so I'm guessing the age. But it wasn't until about 10 years ago I actually used the stainless steel steamer insert which fits 2 of the sauce pans. Oh my--the joys I missed all those years. Lately I've been making various "broth" drinks. Sometimes I use just one chicken thigh (bone and skin included) and have delicious chicken broth; sometimes I use up some tired old vegetables like limp green beans or carrots, or a frozen vegetable past its prime. I used up half a cuke and tossed in some onions, and it was marvelous chilled. But lately I've been trying it with fruit. Yesterday I threw in a small handful of red grapes, and had a delicious drink, but decided to taste the grapes before tossing them, and they were fabulous. Apples and oranges don't work well, but cranberries, blueberries and strawberries make a great drink as an alternative to coffee or tea.

Also, if you need a "fast" after having pizza and chocolate pie for dinner, this is a good solution for the next day, like today.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Longtime Clinton aide Doug Band wrote a memo in 2011 to justify himself to
lawyers at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett who were reviewing his role and
conducting a governance review of the Clinton Foundation . . .
"The Band memo reveals exactly what critics of the Clintons have long said:
They make little distinction between the private and public aspects of their
lives, between the pursuit of personal enrichment, the operation of a nonprofit,
and participation in U.S. politics.

Mr. Band writes that he and his colleague Justin Cooper “have, for the past
ten years, served as the primary contact and point of management for President
Clinton’s activities—which span from political activity... (e.g., campaigning on
behalf of candidates for elected office), to business activity (e.g., providing
advisory services to business entities with which he has a consulting
arrangement), to Foundation activity.”

This excerpt and all the potential conflicts it describes, plus Chelsea’s
warning about business “hustling” at foundation events, would seem more than
ample cause to trigger an IRS audit of the foundation. For that matter, why
aren’t the IRS and prosecutors already on the case? Any normal foundation has to
keep records to show it is separating its nonprofit activity from any for-profit
business."

I received an exciting advance copy to review this week, Helen Rappaport, "Caught in the Revolution; Petrograd, Russia, 1917--a World on the Edge." (St. Marin's Press, due February 2017). It's written from research using foreigners' diaries and letters who were eye witnesses caught in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Review copies don't have the photos ;-( but the list of eye witnesses is certainly interesting. The list includes Julia Dent Grant, granddaughter of president Grant, the black valet of the American ambassador, as well as many journalists and correspondents. One really piqued my interest, Emmeline Pankhurst, and I'll have to do a bit more research on her.

We visited this city in 2006--traveling there by train from Helsinki, Finland. St. Petersburg was created in 1703 by Peter the Great who wanted a seaport, then the name changed to Petrograd in 1914 (burg is German and grad is Russian for city), then Leningrad in 1924 for Vladimir Lenin, and then after the Communist regime collapsed, the people voted to change it back to St. Petersburg.

Election Integrity should be a national issue says True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht who after wrapping up an interview on Fox, kept the cameras rolling for an impromptu DIY interview that focuses on solutions to the very real problems that are eroding our election process . (I thought the background in the studio was interesting.)

Our election registration and fraud is institutionalized. Enrollment is based on self-attestation and the assumption people are honest when they fill out those forms. There is no check for citizenship or anything else. Although states are responsible for registering voters, they are sued by the federal government and many leftist organizations if they try to check on the legality of the information. That is very expensive, but allowing non-citizens or non-residents of your state or city, is even more expensive. Suppression exists from top to bottom for political advantage, and Democrats are so much better at this than Republicans as recent undercover tapes showed how it is done. However, if you're ignoring it because you vote Democrat, next time it could be the other party.

Could you vote in Mexico or Germany or Britain (on Brexit, for instance)? Of course not. Those countries are light years ahead of the U.S. in stopping illegals from voting. Our lax rules create distrust and low voter turn out.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Our first amendment addresses the problem of government control of the media, but it doesn't seem to be working. Now that we know how the President was involved in her e-mail scandals, it's important to cover for him, and the only person who can do that is the next president.

"A whopping 91 percent of news coverage about Donald Trump on the three broadcast nightly newscasts over the past 12 weeks has been 'hostile', a new study finds.

The study, conducted by the conservative Media Research Center, found that not only has Trump received significantly more broadcast network news coverage than his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, but nearly all of that coverage (91%) has been hostile, according to the study.

In addition, the networks spent far more airtime focusing on the personal controversies involving Trump, such as his treatment of women, than controversies surrounding Clinton, such as her email practices or the Clinton Foundation.

For the study, MRC analyzed all 588 evening news stories that either discussed or mentioned the presidential campaign on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts from July 29 through October 20 (including weekends). Of the total newscasts, the networks devoted 29 percent of their time to the campaign."

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

I emailed a Brookings (left think tank) author Mark Dynarski of an article on why Title 1 is failing--not enough money he wrote because administrators fritter it away on staff workshops, equipment, etc. rather than helping students. (Title I provides funding to states and districts to improve education for disadvantaged students.) Need. More. Money. Fifty years and $22 trillion on the War on Poverty, 123 wealth transfer programs, and the poverty rate is higher under Obama in 2016 than under Johnson in 1966. Democrats I know, especially teachers, scream, "it's mean old Republicans," but these programs have been bi-partisan with great eagerness for the pork returned to the states so they can be reelected. My note to the Brookings author won't make any difference because it's always about more money and the researchers get grants for writing this stuff.

It makes me think of the Reckless Bad Boys of Columbus, a study done before the War on Poverty, by famous criminologist Walter C. Reckless. Using two groups of "bad boys" from blue collar, working class and deprived neighborhoods and one group of boys who'd rarely been in trouble (from a total 1700), he showered one group of bad boys with every advantage of extra attention, the best teachers and special classes to lift their self-esteem. The other two groups just continued in school as usual, with no special attention. At the end of four years (10th grade), the two groups of bad boys still had the same number of contacts with police for delinquency, behavior problems, drop out rate, etc. and the good boys still weren't in trouble.

I wrote about this study at my blog in 2008:

"If I'd spent 15 years of my life invested in this self-worth concept to
reduce crime, I think I would have been distraught. But as far as I
know, the researchers just decided their model program wasn't tweaked
right, and I think Dr. Reckless is still being cited in the literature
for his self constraint theories of criminal behavior.

What I
found most interesting was that when the researchers interviewed both
the students and the teachers after 4 years, they thought the program
was a success! The teachers rated the bad boys in the experimental
group as much improved in behavior, even though there was no evidence,
and the boys themselves were enthusiastic and recommended it for their
friends! But it didn't translate into better grades or less contact with
the police and courts."

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between myself and the American voter and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington. Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC: ● FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress; ● SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health); ● THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated; ● FOURTH, a 5 year ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service; ● FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government; ● SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.

On the same day, I will begin taking the following 7 actions to protect American workers:

FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205
SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator
FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately
FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.
SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward
SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure

Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama
SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States
THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities
FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back
FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
2. End The Offshoring Act Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax free. 3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public -private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to gives parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4 year college more affordable.
5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life saving medications.
6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on side childcare services, and creates tax free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low income families.
7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2 year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally reentering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.

The CDC has reported that men who have sex with men contract HIV at 44x the rate of men who don’t. New syphilis cases are 81.7% MSM. During 2011–2015, the chlamydia rate in men increased 20.0%, compared with a 0.3% increase in women. Gonorrhea is increasing 3x faster among men than women. Oral and anal sex, multiple sex partners including bisexual behavior with girlfriends or wives, and IV drug use will do that. Men who have sex with men also have much higher rates of suicide, eating disorders, depression and addiction. As any heterosexual couple can tell you, a marriage certificate issued by the state doesn’t fix you if you’re a mess. Marriage doesn’t solve deep seated unhappiness, self esteem, career losses, unemployment, rejection by loved ones or distorted body image. Unfortunately, that’s the direction the LGBTQ torchbearers went--legal marriage intended for establishing families the foundation of society. Rather than work for legal recognition for a lifestyle that fit their needs--perhaps a 5 year contract or unique financial regulations for support--they demanded complete acceptance from churches, government, society and family--a “just as if” marriage. That became the goal; not the betterment of their followers. And they got it.

What about gay men and women who don’t have someone to love, or don’t have a toned and buff body to show off at the gym, or who don’t want to be political, or who don’t want to come out to mom and dad? Too bad. LGBTQ “leaders” turned their vast war chest and efforts to the tiny fraction of vulnerable people, less than one percent, who are confused about their biology and birth certificates, victims of a fraud turning into a billion dollar industry.

I rarely repost internet memes, but this one in Rusty’s e-mail really had appeal. It reminds me of the Gospel of Matthew 25, and also the form of Communion we used/use in the Church of the Brethren which is a community meal and foot washing.

An eye witness account from New York City: On a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.

A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!' 'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,' was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now..'

As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her:

Monday, October 24, 2016

The 2016 Democratic Party platform calls for taxpayer-funded
abortion-on-demand, including a repeal of the Hyde Amendment, the often-cited
federal provision that prevents some federal taxpayer dollars from paying for
abortions. The platform also states the Democratic Party will “stand up for
Planned Parenthood,” which killed more than 325,000 unborn human beings in 2013
and does trafficking in body parts of aborted babies.Ohio Right to Life

More and more artificial sweeteners are used in our food with approval from
the FDA. The consumer believes this will help with weight loss, but that’s not
the case.

“The food industry responds to the consumer demand, and increasingly replaces
sugar with artificial sweeteners in order to provide tasty goods with lower
sugar content. Most consumers expect that weight loss will result from switching
to artificial sweeteners (because they contain no or fewer calories), but
paradoxically the opposite may happen.”

A very small study showed children have much more of these artificial
sweeteners in their systems than adults. Infants are ingesting it through breast
milk and their systems may not be able to process it, plus it may influence
their preferences for sweetness when they are older.

"On the left you have the Democrat party, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Fordham Institute and teachers unions fighting to eliminate the current state charter school system. They weigh in with over $13 million in political contributions, and a ground team of advocacy support for Democrat legislators. Their efforts, according to a press release from the Ohio House and Senate Democratic Caucus, have resulted in “20 bills and dozens of amendments to bring more accountability to Ohio’s charter schools.”

On the right you have charter schools, Bill Lager founder of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) and White Hat Management, the school founded by Akron’s David Brennan. With Lager providing $220,000 in contributions to Republican legislators this year. Their results are HB 2, which created greater oversight of charter schools and charter school sponsors.

In the middle, the real battle is taking place; this is the battle over a billion dollars. These dollars fund, at half the cost of many urban district schools, approximately one third of students whose families have chosen to send their child to a charter school."

All Christians, whether or not Catholic, have a wonderful opportunity for instruction in the faith taught by Charles Craigmile, previously president and CEO of Forseva which he sold to Equifax in 2014.and now CEO of Revenova and philosopher at the Church of St. Mary, Lombard, Illinois. The first year was the catechism, second was the first 500 years and Fathers of the Church, third Catholic Social Teachings and now in 2016 "Christian Apologetics for the 21st Century--Overcoming Modern Barriers to Faith." It covers secularism with emphasis on Stephen Hawking and his book The Grand Design (2010), which I'm actually watching for the third time, evidence for God in physics and metaphysics, whether religion is inherently dangerous as a basis for society, the proper understanding of the Bible, and the dictatorship of relativism vs. true Christian faith. It's like having a college course taught by a youthful professor with a good sense of humor, but because it's on YouTube you can pause and review what the professor just said. Not only was I in college 50+ years ago, but I had no philosophy or religion in college or high school. Also, since I've been a Lutheran since 1976, I've had no church teaching or history between the letters of Paul and the break with Rome in 1516.

Mr. Craigmile's LinkedIn page: DePaul University, MA, Philosophy, 1987 –
1989; University of St. Thomas, University of St. Thomas, BA,
Philosophy, Latin and Greek, 1981 – 1985. He's currently President and
Chief Executive Officer at Revenova LLC of Chicago.

Class schedule for 2016

Tuesday, June 14: Modern Secularism—The False Opposition of Religion and Science

Sunday, October 23, 2016

"At the beginning of the [third] debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked the
candidates about gun control, with Hillary faking up a fear for the
“toddlers” exposed to gun violence. Moments later, she was defending
abortionists, presenting herself as the eternal defender of “Planned
Parenthood.” In what passed for a tough question in the debate, Wallace
asked her why such support extends to partial-birth abortion. She said
that “heartbreaking cases” justify it. Translation: she still supports
near-infanticide for disabled unborn children. This from a candidate who
plays the moral superior to Trump for having “mocked” a disabled
reporter. This from a candidate who says “America is great because
America is good.” Later in the debate she said that the government has a
responsibility to take care of the unhealthy. Apparently not at the
beginning of life. In Hillary’s America, unhealthy babies do not enjoy
the same rights as healthy ones. Up to moments before their birth,
Hillary sanctions their killing."

For years I've had an on-line subscription to Washington Post, except it isn't. I signed up years ago, and I don't pay for it. It's about 8-10 articles daily, not the whole paper, and not even what you see if you go directly to the website. If I really dig or if they throw in some freebies I might get something about music, art, sports or the suburbs. A Google search will often turn up an article in the Post that wasn't part of my "subscription." Hey, you get what you pay for, and in this case, it's all Hillary, all the time. Either she owns the Post or they own her.

Since Trump won the Republican Primary, it's been running about 8:1, anti-Trump to pro-Clinton. He made a lewd remark (and almost all that stuff has already been proven untrue) and she's taken millions from foreign governments. Which gets more space? Trump's behavior, not hers. Trump was booed at that Catholic dinner Thursday night, and so was Mrs. Clinton. Which got in the news? Guess. Mr. Trump. Which candidate had campaign staff saying bad things about Catholics that came out in Podesta's e-mails? Guess--yup, Mrs. Clinton. Two DNC staffers, one with close ties to Obama, have been fired for trying to disrupt the Trump rallies and illegally register voters. Did that even get into the Washington Post? Yup. With really negative information about the guy who filmed them doing illegal things.

It's to the point that when WaPo shows up in my e-mail with the teaser headline, I just delete it because it's like watching a pimp on the street calling in the Johns for his Ho. It's just sickening. The bias is in the op-eds, the news, and the cartoons. I don't know who owns Washington Post, but they are really fearful that Trump could win. What would happen? He could bust up the cozy relationship between the two parties? He could demand some standards for lobbyists? He just isn't a politician who knows how to play the game. He's using his own fortune, he doesn't have that essential ground crew that goes out and knocks on doors and makes phone calls. I worked a little on the Romney campaign in our community in 2012, and people were putting in their own money, buying space on Facebook. Not much help from the party for the people who had no connections. Here in Ohio Trump doesn't have the support of the Republican governor or the Republican Party, so no one can get elected on his coat tails. It's really made a lot of us rethink what we thought about our "free elections" and "free press."

First, he's like Mrs. Clinton. I think her lies are pathological; his are probably just political--wants so badly to have a legacy. Second, the figure for the uninsured was always incorrect even back in 2009; always a lie, always a myth. Many "uninsured" people were eligible for Medicaid then and hadn't bothered with the red tape--they just went to the ER. A goodly number were single men with no dependents who weren't working. Now they have even less incentive to work. Many people didn't want to sign up for employer's health insurance because they were young and didn't want the pay the co-pay (I can remember arguing with my own young adults about this 25 years ago). Many people chose to just pay their own health costs, or negotiate for it, which actually can be cheaper, especially now.

This is not to say there weren't any Americans without health insurance (which is different than healthcare--by law everyone had that). Question: why not a program to target them instead of dismantling a system that was working for 80% of the population? Answer: Because he wanted to control 1/5 of the economy. The end goal is single payer.

1. 20,000,000 more people have health insurance. "Though the uninsured rate has reached a historic low and 20 million
Americans now have health insurance, the majority of those who enrolled
in coverage under Obamacare qualified for Medicaid. The Affordable Care
Act loosened the guidelines for Medicaid eligibility, and since the law
was passed in 2009, 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded
the program. 97 percent of the new enrollees, or 8.99 million people, enrolled in Medicaid. And of course, it's the states that have to pick up those costs, and states can not run a deficit the way the federal government does.

2. When a Democrat governor replaced a Republican governor he wanted the money and found he actually saved money with the expanded Medicaid because of fewer ER visits. "Despite the president’s claim, recent findings from a study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that expanding
Medicaid won’t stop patients from using emergency rooms for primary
care." Oregon did a study in 2008 and found the same thing--use went up--40% increase.

3. Obamacare has not affected the coverage for most Americans. "Though the majority of Americans receive their health insurance coverage
through their employers, consumers purchasing plans both on and off the
exchange have seen their narrower networks, canceled policies, and
increased deductibles and premiums." President Obama apparently doesn't read social media where people are posting photos of their notices of increase.

4. The Federal government is covering the cost of Medicaid expansion. This is a big duh! It's not Monopoly Money. It's still our tax money, sir. And it's only for 3 years and then the silly governors like John Kasich of Ohio who took the carrot rather than have a spine will have to find that money. "An August report
from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the
Actuary found that the cost of Medicaid expansion for 2015 was $6,366
per person—49 percent higher than past estimates."

5. “Most people today can find a plan for less than $75 a month at
the HealthCare.gov marketplace when you include the tax credits that the
government is giving you.” Face smack.
The government doesn't "give" anything. It takes. "Of the 17.3 million people who purchase plans sold in the individual
market in 2015, 7.3 million received subsidies that lowered the cost of
their health insurance. Another 10 million consumers did not qualify for
financial assistance.
Those consumers, experts say, are going to be hit the hardest by premium increases."

6. "Although the marketplaces are working well in most of the
states, there are some states where there’s still not enough competition
between insurers.” So the President is blaming the insurers for his plan to destroy the health insurance of 80% of Americans (designed by Bob Creamer, the ex-felon recently fired by the DNC for arranging for riots at the Trump rallies). "Choice and competition among insurers has decreased not only as
insurers have left the exchanges, but as the nonprofit consumer operated
and oriented plans, or co-ops, have failed. The health care law approved the creation of 23 co-ops, which were
designed to provide consumers with more choice. However, in three years,
17 co-ops have collapsed."

7.) “In some states, the premium increases are manageable, 2
percent or 8 percent, some 20 percent. But we know there’s some states
that may see premiums go up by 50 percent or more.” Well, sweet. Who wants their premiums to go up by 50%? Is he not president of those people, too?Only one state, Vermont, has an increase less than 10%.

I really enjoy receiving "The World's Healthiest Foods" newsletter and find the nutrition charts very interesting (web page is awkward and difficult to navigate). But today's featured recipe is "Mediterranean Cod with Tomatoes." One pound of cod serves four, and it has 200 calories. Really? That would send me to the frig or pantry very quickly looking for something more satisfying.

I'm a stress eater, and it's been a very stressful time the last two weeks. (Death of our cat.) I think I've fixed three Marie Callender pies in the last 10 days--cherry with a lattice top, dark chocolate cream, and dutch apple. If you cut the pieces rather small, one piece is about as many calories as two decent size cookies, or a good slab of cheddar cheese, which also help with stress.

"All but forgotten today, the Geneva Bible was the most widely read and influential English Bible of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower.

Mary I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 until her death in 1558. Her executions of Protestants caused her opponents to give her the sobriquet "Bloody Mary." It was her persecution that caused the Marian Exile which drove 800 English scholars to the European continent, where a number of them gathered in Geneva, Switzerland. There a team of scholars led by William Whittingham, and assisted by Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, John Knox, and Thomas Sampson, produced The Geneva Bible, based on Greek and Hebrew manuscripts and a revision of William Tyndale's New Testament, which first appeared in 1526. The Geneva Bible New Testament was published in 1557, with the complete Bible appearing in 1560.

A superb translation, it was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and became the Bible of choice for many of the greatest writers and thinkers of that time. Men such as William Shakespeare, John Bunyan, and John Milton used the Geneva Bible in their writings.

The Geneva Bible is unique among all other Bibles. It was the first Bible to use chapters and numbered verses and became the most popular version of its time because of its extensive marginal notes. These notes, written by Reformation leaders including John Calvin and others, were intended to help explain and interpret the Scriptures for the average reader.

With its variety of scriptural study guides and aids—which included cross-reference verse citations, introductions to each book of the Bible, maps, tables, woodcut illustrations, indexes, and other features—the Geneva Bible is regarded as history's first study Bible.

In 2006, Tolle Lege Press released a version of the 1599 Geneva Bible with modern spellings as part of its 1599 Geneva Bible restoration project. The original cross references were retained as well as the study notes by the Protestant Reformation leaders. In addition, the Old English glossary was included in the updated version."

Why then do so many conservative churches only support the King James Version of the Bible (which has been updated and refreshed in modern language many times)? The Geneva version was filled with explanations and notes--it was a study Bible--which questioned the authority of the monarch. You can see why it was so popular with the colonialists who had left England in search of religious freedom.

"Recognizing that the Geneva Bible and its notes were undermining the authority of the monarchy, King James I of England commissioned the "Authorized Version," commonly known as the King James Bible, as its replacement. The King James Version did not include any of the inflammatory footnotes, of course, but it also altered key translations to make them seem more favorable to episcopal and monarchial forms of government.

But the people were not fooled. The Pilgrims and Puritans preferred the Geneva Bible over the King James Bible, not trusting the king's purported good faith. The Geneva Bible was brought over on the Mayflower, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Geneva translation and footnotes were the biblical foundation for the American Republic. . .

. . . If it is worthwhile to read Shakespeare and Milton, then it is worthwhile to read the Bible that informed the minds of Shakespeare and Milton. If it is worthwhile to preserve our American Republic, then it is worthwhile to draw fresh inspiration from the book that ended the age of kings. . .

. . . The 1599 Geneva Bible -- has "modern typography and spelling. All of the original footnotes are there. The original translation is there. Every word that put fire in the bellies of Reformers and Patriots is included."

The 1560 Geneva Bible was the first to have Bible chapters divided into numbered verses. The translation is the work of religious leaders exiled from England after the death of King Edward VI in 1553. Almost every chapter has marginal notes to create greater understanding of scripture. The marginal notes often reflected Calvinistic and Protestant reformation influences, not yet accepted by the Church of England. King James I in the late 16th century pronounced the Geneva Bible marginal notes as being: "partial, untrue, seditious, and savouring of dangerous and traitorous conceits." In every copy of each edition the word "breeches" rather than "aprons" was used in Genesis 3:7, which accounts for why the Geneva Bible is sometime called the "Breeches" Bible. The Church of England never authorized or sanctioned the Geneva Bible. However, it was frequently used, without authority, both to read the scripture lessons, and to preach from. It was pre-eminent as a household Bible, and continued so until the middle of the 17th century. The convenient size, cheap price, chapters divided into numbered verses and extensive marginal notes were the cause of it's popularity.

In 1620 the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth with their Bibles and a conviction derived from those Bibles of establishing a new nation. The Bible was not the King James Version. When James I became king of England in 1603, there were two translations of the Bible in use; the Geneva Bible was the most popular, and the Bishops' Bible was used for reading in churches.

King James disapproved of the Geneva Bible because of its Calvinistic leanings. He also frowned on what he considered to be seditious marginal notes on key political texts. A marginal note for Exodus 1:9 indicated that the Hebrew midwives were correct in disobeying the Egyptian king's orders, and a note for 2 Chronicles 15:16 said that King Asa should have had his mother executed and not merely deposed for the crime of worshipping an idol. The King James Version of the Bible grew out of the king's distaste for these brief but potent doctrinal commentaries. He considered the marginal notes to be a political threat to his kingdom.

At a conference at Hampton Court in 1604 with bishops and theologians, the king listened to a suggestion by the Puritan scholar John Reynolds that a new translation of the Bible was needed. Because of his distaste for the Geneva Bible, James was eager for a new translation. "I profess," he said, "I could never yet see a Bible well translated in English; but I think that, of all, that of Geneva is the worst."

A THREAT TO ROME

In addition to being a threat to the king of England, the Geneva Bible was outspokenly anti-Roman Catholic, as one might expect. Rome was still persecuting Protestants in the sixteenth century. Keep in mind that the English translators were exiles from a nation that was returning to the Catholic faith under a queen who was burning Protestants at the stake. The anti-Roman Catholic sentiment is most evident in the Book of Revelation: "The beast that cometh out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7) is the Pope, which hath his power out of hell and cometh thence." In the end, the Geneva Bible was replaced by the King James Version, but not before it helped to settle America.

Abby Johnson used to work for Planned Parenthood, and she also had two abortions herself. Now she is a Christian and has a ministry to save other women from her mistakes--both working for abortion or having abortions. Here's what she says about nine month abortions. https://www.facebook.com/abbyjohnsonprolife/posts/1330729393603797

"Yes, late term abortions do take place through the entire third trimester, including through the 9th month of pregnancy. According to the latest data, about 18,000 3rd trimester abortions are performed every year.
These abortions can be performed for the "life or health" of the mother. What this means is that a late term abortion can be provided for any reason, as long as the doctor checks a box on her chart stating it was affecting her "life or health." No documentation of proof is required.

According to several former late term abortion clinic workers who have come through ATTWN, [And Then There Were None] approximately 50% of 3rd trimester abortions are performed on healthy babies. In my own personal experience, we often referred women to late term providers who were pregnant with healthy babies...they wanted the abortion because they had just broken up with the baby's father, or because they lost their job or something similar.

FACTS about late term abortion:

Since the ban on Partial Birth Abortion, abortionists have come up with a different method...believe it or not, a more dangerous method for the woman.

When a woman comes in for a late term abortion, her cervix is dilated through the administration of one of two medications called misoprostol (cytotec) and pitocin and/or laminaria/lamicel insertion. Laminaria are made of sterilized seaweed and look like tiny tampons. Lamicel are similar, but made of a synthetic material. The misoprotol is taken orally prior to surgery and may take several hours to work. Misoprostol is a medication administered to relax the cervix muscle so that the surgeon can dilate it easily. Pitocin is also used sometimes to help with this process and is administered through an I.V.

If laminaria or lamicel is necessary to complete dilation, they must be inserted into the patient’s cervix by the physician prior to the abortion procedure. The laminaria/lamicel act like sponges by absorbing the moisture in the patient’s vagina and expanding to gently open the cervix.

Laminaria/lamicel and misoprostol will be administered on day one. Also, on day one, the physician will also administer a medication called digoxin. This medication will be injected into the amniotic fluid. The fetus will then drink in the digoxin and will overdose in the womb. It can take up to 48 hours for death to occur. During this time, the mother may feel her child struggling to die in her womb.

On day two or three, the physician will perform the surgical abortion after dilation of the cervix is complete—this may take several hours or overnight. The doctor will remove the laminaria (if applicable) insert a speculum into the vagina, and remove the unborn child using vacuum aspiration (suction), forceps and curettes. The surgical procedure takes approximately 10 – 25 minutes. After surgery, the mother is taken into the recovery room, where nurses will monitor her for approximately 45 minutes.

You can find statistics on late term abortion at www.guttmacher.org. You can also find a detailed description of late term abortion procedures on various abortion provider websites such as www.drhern.com"

Saturday, October 22, 2016

"In 1908, National Geographic reported that Alaskan glaciers at Glacier Bay
retreated eleven feet per day from 1894 to 1907, during the coldest years on
record.

USGS reports that Glacier Bay glaciers retreated four feet per day from 1760
to 1907. I annotated the map to show which periods of melting are considered
natural by scientists, and which periods are caused by man.
In 1911, it was reported that glaciers in the Alps were disappearing.

Glaciers are part of the romance of mountains; the very name gives the thrill
of the lonely and high and awful even to those who are not quite sure what a
glacier may be. There is grave news about glaciers; they are disappearing, it
would seem. Swiss peasants who are not yet quite all modernised enough to think
toy railways in harmony with the eternal hills, declare that the tourists who go
to see the glaciers are the cause of the ruin. Wherever the mountain cars run
the glaciers flee.

It's a good thing we visited Alaska in 2001, 250 years after the glaciers were reported retreating.

"The notion peddled by some "Never Trump" Republicans that they can keep Hillary from accomplishing what she wants for 4 years, then replace her with someone they prefer, is laughable. The fact that they should know this, and don't, is truly scary. Even more frightening is...perhaps they do. The Republican Congress has done nothing to stop Obama; why should we believe they will do so with Hillary? When they threaten to curb Obama with "the power of the purse," he simply calls their bluff and either bullies them into giving him what he wants, or simply does as he pleases through unconstitutional executive orders. A Republican controlled Congress has done nothing to defund Obamacare, slow down the TRILLIONS of dollars of debt he has accrued, prevent his treasonous acts with Iran, defund Planned Parenthood and their selling of babies' body parts (can you even believe such a thing even exists, and that the Obama’s and Hillary condone it?!), or stop any number of other inappropriate actions and wasteful expenditures. Much of Washington, DC is an out-of-control cancer that must be cut out.

To be sure, there are Republican leaders who desperately want to change things but the entrenched, lobbyist-owned, career politicians–many of them liberals in conservative clothing–have neither the will, backbone, and perhaps not the intellect needed to change it. Radical surgery is necessary. Again, it is laughable to think that the leadership of this weak and diluted Republican Congress would be able or willing to stop the agenda of the libs once they enjoy an even greater momentum from another White House win. Someone please tell me why we should believe that. If the Republican Party has not sold us out, why did they spend $18.2 million on Bush's election in 2004, $53.5 million for McCain in 2008, $42.4 million for Romney in 2012, and $0 on ads to elect Trump?! They have sold us out." (Dutch Sheets, website was unavailable, taken from Facebook post)

Friday, October 21, 2016

Michelle Obama is stumping today for and lying for Hillary Clinton. She continues to put words in Trump's mouth about the election, even though in 2008 Mrs. Clinton's campaign claimed the Obama group fixed the Iowa votes.

Michelle Obama gets that quaky shaky voice--very effective unless you just heard it about lewd talk (and she wasn't referring to Jay-Z lyrics that she allows the children to listen to). These people on the left are really, really worried. Race is tightening even with throwing in Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and both Obamas into the mix.

President Obama's now attacking Senator Rubio. Scared for the Senate. Obama must be terrified that the next president will damage his legacy of destroying our health care. Trump has no help from his party, and no political buddies to campaign for him and only a smidgen of the money compared to Hillary's campaign chest, funded by foreign governments.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Why were the first three questions of the 2nd debate about sex, instead of issues? Because Democrats run the show and they know sex gets people's attention. Look at the video carefully. Evidence exonerates Trump. The "crosstalk" on the bus which the media didn't bother to transcribe, explains it. He's actually talking about how women fawn over celebrities--they always dive in for the kiss. A show of acceptance. This was so clearly a set up by Billy Bush--he did nothing he was accused of--Bush worked very hard to get proof of Trump being gross. I've seen worse "assaults" in the church narthex after the sermon.